


Adaptation

by DanRoseWrites



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, Campaign: Graduation (The Adventure Zone), Character Study, Clyde Nite's sucked, Gen, Pre-Canon, This is just Fitzroy reinventing himself
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:08:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24854347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DanRoseWrites/pseuds/DanRoseWrites
Summary: Fitzroy Maplecourt did not fit in at Clyde Nite's Night Knight School when he first arrived. So he adapted.(A short character study, focusing on Fitzroy's shift from provincial to pompous.)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 51





	Adaptation

**Author's Note:**

> Graduation has me hooked and I wanted to explore my interpretation of some of Fitzroy's time at Clyde Nite's, so here this lil fic is! There may be some grammatical/spelling issues, but this is all in good fun, so oh well. I hope you enjoy <3

Fitzroy Maplecourt did not fit in. Which, yes, looking at himself in comparison to his classmates at  Clyde Nite's Night Knight School, made sense. His wardrobe was simple, white button ups and basic slacks, while his classmates wore layers upon layers of high-end clothing, all embellished with jewels and embroidered symbols that meant nothing to him. The only accessory he had was a bracelet his mom made him ‘to remind him of home’, but everyone he saw around Clyde Nite’s wore at least three very expensive looking rings and had a rotation of other gaudy accessories they’d wear daily. Needless to say, he stuck out the moment he arrived on campus, and everyone knew it.

Despite the judgemental glances cast his way by every other student, Fitzroy did want to make friends. He was determined to bond with the other students, no matter how different their backgrounds were. The half-elf did all that he could, introducing himself to those seated beside him in classes, striking up conversations outside of classes, and reaching out to make plans beyond studying. However earnest his attempts were, the reactions were always the same. His peers would offer curt responses to end the conversation as quickly as possible or simply ignore him all together. The worst of it was when someone would agree to his proposition of a night out, suggest going somewhere they knew Fitzroy couldn’t afford, then gather their friends and go without him. He tried for months, desperate to fit in, even if it meant occasionally humiliating himself, but nothing changed.

It was only after he’d heard the whispers that he completely gave up on socializing. He knew his classmates lacked respect for him because of his background, but hearing that they all believed he was a kiss-ass teacher’s pet stung on another level. When he was in classes, all he would do was try his best to learn the concepts presented so that he could earn his way to knighthood. He gave the teachers his full attention, answered their questions, and asked for clarification when needed. His peers’ (super rude) name calling implied that his behavior was a means to sway his teachers into treating him better, but he was only doing his best to keep his grades up.

Fitzroy wanted to earn his grades and his knighthood, and he wanted to earn them the right way, but his classmates would clearly never see that, nor would they care if they did. Achieving knighthood in Goodcastle was the only straightforward path towards gaining the recognition he so craved, and he wasn’t about to slack off in school (risking his well-devised life plan) to appease these peers that had gleefully taunted him for months. 

He could maybe make his time at Clyde Nite’s easier for himself, though. If he just blended in a little more, faded into the crowd of fanciful, pompous personalities, he could avoid the constant mocking from his peers and quietly complete his schooling without unnecessary obstacles.

With this new plan in mind, Fitzroy sat down at his desk one night, writing out some guidelines for his new path forward at Clyde Nite's Night Knight School:

  1. Ignore your peers, they won’t be of any help here.
  2. Speak out less in class, research any questions you have in your free time.
  3. Mimic speech patterns and upper-class vocabulary.
  4. Find some fancy looking things to add to your wardrobe.



Looking the short list over helped Fitzroy feel like he had more control over the situation. Only four things to do, and they were all perfectly manageable for him, given some time. The last two would certainly take more time, plus some dedication and luck (in terms of finding things he could reasonably spend money on), but they were certainly attainable goals. 

Unfortunately, the first two were more difficult for Fitzroy than he anticipated. He wasn’t a _total_ extrovert, but he was always outspoken and usually friendly, so learning to keep himself from talking to his peers was difficult, even _if_ he strongly disliked them. Being less active in class was a struggle because of the painfully awkward silences that followed a teacher’s question, which he was previously so quick to fill. Then, after a week of his withdrawn behavior, a few of the more empathetic teachers requested a talk with him after class, wanting to know if something was wrong. He assured them he was fine, but he knew nothing he could say to them would undo the damage that had already unintentionally been done. His peers were quick to gossip about the ‘extra attention’ he’d received from their teachers. Suddenly shutting himself up in class became a lot easier.

He got the hang of the changes to his conduct after a couple more weeks. He was quick to shut down any taunts with a laugh and a snarky comment. He was even _more_ quick to simply walk away when anyone tried speaking casually with him. It was clear to Fitzroy that their motivations for approaching him were malicious, no matter how much they attempted to appear earnest. In class he returned to participating, though only enough to keep the teachers from growing concerned and calling attention to him again. 

Worrying less about engaging with others allowed Fitzroy to observe more, and keeping his own, unaltered speech out of the environment helped him get used to hearing only the pompous speech patterns of his classmates. Removing the outlier from the situation made it easier to purge his mind of how he previously spoke and behaved. The primary issue was that he couldn’t practice aloud with peers, who already knew how he acted at the start of his time at Clyde Nite’s. 

In place of real-life experience, Fitzroy ran scenarios in his head to practice the new behavioral patterns. He began to write letters as well, remodeling his thought process and making the new persona mentally reinforced, so that the facade wouldn’t crumble upon his first practical attempt at acting it out. The first few letters were addressed to his mother, but thinking about how she would react to his new persona made him start questioning his motivations, so he never sent any of those and stopped writing to her. He shut out any worries and addressed his new practice letters to fictional people. Some of his letters were written to fictitious acquaintances that he would pretend to gossip and joke around with. Others were written to imaginary family members, to whom he would pretend to write about prestige and honor and other concepts that seemed important to his classmates. The whole process felt a little over-the-top, but it worked well enough in the end.

By the time his first semester was over, Fitzroy had a firm grasp on his new self. He had even created a new backstory for himself (which he was very proud of). A couple weeks before the break began, Fitzroy sent a letter to his mother, explaining that he would not be visiting home for his time off and instead would be working at a store close to the school, earning some money for himself. He kept the letter simple and signed it ‘Sir Fitzroy Maplecourt, Knight (in asbestia) of the realm of Goodcastle’, following the format of letter-writing he was now used to. 

He had not been lying, since he _was_ going to spend the break working, he simply left out the reasons behind his decision. Fitzroy did not want her to think that he was avoiding her, that he favored keeping his new persona intact over seeing her, because that was not the case! He needed to do this so his time at Clyde Nite’s would go by as swiftly and straightforwardly as possible. Once he was finished with school, he could go visit. Perhaps he could help move her to Goodcastle with him, if she wanted. He would work there, become famous for his honorable deeds, and pay back the loan she and his father had taken out for him. She did not have to know he was going to reinvent himself into someone she would not recognize. She also did not need to know that the money he was earning would be invested in an upgraded wardrobe, rather than being saved for future use.

As the break passed by, Fitzroy worked his time away, testing out his new persona on his employer, fellow employees, and customers. He toned down the high-class impertinence most of the time, but his aim was _not_ to be well-liked, so he hardly worried about pleasing others. All in all, his practical trial of Sir Fitzroy Maplecourt, Knight (in asbestia) of the realm of Goodcastle went smoothly. 

On the last day of the break, with his final payment in hand, he wandered from shop to shop, looking for reasonably priced things he could add to his everyday wardrobe to make himself appear more high-class. He eventually settled on a dark purple suit jacket, a maroon sash, a faux-gold circlet, and a handful of assorted accessories that were as cheap as he could find. 

The moment he returned to his room that afternoon, he layered his purchases atop his current outfit and accented his look with some of the new accessories. He stood in front of the mirror and inspected his reflection. As his eyes flicked from golden glint on his forehead to golden glint on his hand, the half-elf found himself sighing with relief. He certainly did not meet the high standards of most other Clyde Nite’s students, but he would, at the very least, not stick out. He genuinely smiled at himself, feeling a glimmer of hope for his future at Clyde Nite’s Night Knight School. 

Fitzroy still had plenty of obstacles ahead of him. The students he had already met would likely attempt to tear his newfound facade down, and there was the possibility that incoming students would see right through him. However, social obstacles would be lessened by his avoidance of unnecessary social interaction. Educational obstacles would be his primary focus for the rest of his time at Clyde Nite’s, and he could tackle all of those by studying as effectively as possible. The only obstacle that truly made Fitzroy concerned about his otherwise foolproof plan was Magical Theory, a required class he could not simply avoid placing on his schedule. He, despite being a half-elf, had always lacked the magical abilities of his mother’s bloodline. But, really? That class was a concern for Future Fitzroy. In the moment, as he set aside his outfit for the first day of his second semester, Fitzroy felt confident in who he’d made himself into.

Fitzroy Maplecourt did not fit in, so Sir Fitzroy Maplecourt, Knight (in asbestia) of the realm of Goodcastle adapted. And he would be just fine. 


End file.
